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Elderly Care Tips: Exercises for When You or Your Loved Ones Cannot Stand Up

Elderly Care in Delray Beach FL

You know that keeping your aging loved ones active is an important part of your elderly care journey with them, but there are times when going out for a long walk, following an aerobics video, or taking a swim is simply not an option. If your senior parents suffer from extensive mobility limitations or have recently faced an injury or illness that make it difficult or impossible for them to get up and move around, it is important to find exercises that will enable them to keep their bodies moving as much as possible so that they do not suffer health consequences related to inactivity.

As with any other type of exercise, make sure that you talk to your parents’ doctor before getting them started on any type of workout so that they can tell you what types of movements are appropriate for their bodies and any limitations and challenges that they have so you ensure they stay safe and healthy while exercising.

 

Try some of these exercises, and share them with your parents’ elderly health care services provider, for when they need more activity but are not able to get up and get active:

• Proper posture. Encourage your parents to channel their inner king and queen by practicing formal, regal posture. Simply sitting up straight and tall in a chair engages muscles throughout the body, and you can further these benefits with a few simple movements. Sit up as straight as possible, drop your shoulders, pull your abdominals in by pretending to suck the back of your belly button to your spine, and press your thighs together from hip to knee to engage your leg and buttocks muscles. Hold this for as long as possible, continuously focusing on keeping the muscles engaged and your back straight.

• Seated jacks. If your parents cannot stand up or have limited mobility, they are not going to be able to do traditional jumping jacks. By modifying the movement a bit, however, they can still get the calorie-burning, cardio benefits of this traditional exercise. Sit toward the edge of the chair, bring your legs together, and your arms to your chest. Move your arms and legs out and back in similar to the movement of a traditional jumping jack. Repeat this movement at a continuous, steady pace and work up to three to four sets of 20 “jacks.”

• Core twists. A strong core is important for protecting your loved ones from back pain, improves posture, reduces fall risk, and helps to guard your parents from injury if they are involved in an accident. Getting down on the floor to do crunches or sit ups, however, is not practical for seniors with mobility issues. Instead, engage these muscles right from a chair. Sit tall near the edge of a chair with your legs together and your arms crossed over your chest. Engage your abdominal muscles and twist your upper body toward one side without releasing the muscles. Exhale without disengaging and return to the neutral center position, then repeat on the other side. Work up to 20 reps.

 

If you or a family member near Delray Beach, FL are in need of elderly care services, call the caring professionals at Star Multi Care today at (954) 870-4770. Providing Service in Ft. Lauderdale, Boca Raton, Pompano Beach, Delray Beach, Coconut Creek, Taramac, Margate, and surrounding Florida cities.

 

Stephen Sternbach

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